


summer heat (soft skies)

by vagarius



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (but they are high school age in this), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Suburbs, Friendship, Gen, Slice of Life, dont answer that, kageyama and hinata are childhood friends, light humor, so are tsukki and yama but that's canon anyway, they still play volleyball because how can you have a hq slice of life without vball, those platonic warm and fuzzy feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-23 17:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7473132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagarius/pseuds/vagarius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the "my little sister is running a lemonade stand and my friend and I are covering but I just spilled lemonade all over <em>your</em> friend and I'm not sure who I'm supposed to be scared of most" AU (or at least, that's how it started)</p>
            </blockquote>





	summer heat (soft skies)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [horchata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/horchata/gifts).



> happy summer hols, horchata!! yeah, so, funny story, this was actually the first fic i wrote for the exchange, but then i realized i forgot poor yachi and felt bad so... yeah. that's why you have multiple fics. hope you like it, regardless!

"For the record," Hinata comments, because he feels the need to, "I didn't plan this, when I finally decided to invite you over again after all these years."

Kageyama glares at him, more resigned than anything, and Hinata takes it as a sort of _I figured_ or _that's what I assumed, dumbass._

Hinata sighs. The sun is warm on his face, and the breeze feels nice against his skin. He wants to play volleyball. He's 110% sure that Kageyama feels the same, and annoyance simmers under his palms with the knowledge that they _can't,_ at least not until Natsu is done with whatever Hinata's mom wanted her to be doing instead of selling powdered drink mix in water to strangers.

(To be fair, Hinata had whined and protested, but so had Natsu, and apparently he and Kageyama are both total pushovers who can't say no, because they suddenly found themselves manning an elementary school student's lemonade stand instead of practicing volleyball. That has to be a crime. Or at least a mild offense.)

Hinata sighs again, and half-prays that his sister will come back out soon, before someone decides they're thirsty enough to buy lemonade from a random pair of high school students on the side of the street. _Not that it's likely we'll attract many customers,_ Hinata thinks, _with Kageyama's scary face._

Evidently, the universe hates Hinata today, because two boys – _tall_ boys, Hinata can't help but note – approach the stand, equal parts annoyingly smug and mildly disinterested. One is blond and skinny, like an overgrown beanstalk, and the other has a smattering of freckles across his cheeks and the tops of his shoulders, making him look approachable and vaguely sweet. Hinata wonders what they're doing hanging around each other.

The blond beanstalk tilts his head down and a little to the left, and smirks like he has nothing better to do. Hinata kind of wishes he did, after he opens his mouth, and drawls, "Aren't you a little old to be running a lemonade stand?"

"I'm covering for my little sister, okay!" Hinata blurts, sitting up straighter in his seat. Kageyama's resting-scowl becomes a bit more intense beside him.

Blond beanstalk blinks. Huffs out a laugh. It's breathy, and condescending, and Hinata isn't sure whether to feel stupidly embarrassed or flat out pissed. He goes for the latter. The boy opens his mouth again to say, "Oh. I wasn't asking you, though. I was under the impression you were about six. Seven at most." The boy with the freckles snickers loudly, and Hinata feels oddly betrayed. "Anyway," the blond beanstalk continues, turning his gaze over to Kageyama, "Are you his escort? Or are there some other _ulterior_ motives?"

Kageyama grits his teeth. His fuse is shorter than a docked dog's tail. "Did you come here to make fun of us," he asks, though his tone carries no inflection that would otherwise indicate a question, "or to buy lemonade?"

The blond beanstalk might be something of a sadist, because he _grins_ at that, and answers, "Lemonade, of course. Making fun of you is just half the fun. Yamaguchi?"

Freckles waves his hand like he's fanning away his friend's unpleasant demeanor. "Alright, alright," he says, and starts to take some money out of his pocket. "How much for two cups of lemonade?" He smiles as he says it, and Hinata has to pause for a moment. _What the hell,_ Hinata thinks, _he's cute._ Kageyama is also frozen beside him.

"Er," Hinata intelligently replies, then tells the boy the price. As Freckles counts his change, Hinata pours two cups of pre-prepared store-bought-powdered-drink-mix lemonade (with ice), and hands both to Kageyama to pass onto Freckles and the beanstalk. With a smirk, blond beanstalk walks away, Freckles trailing after him.

"You know," Kageyama comments, unusually open about these kinds of things, "The dude with the freckles was kind of cute. Too bad his friend makes me want to eat shit."

"I _know,_ right?"

 

The next day is just as perfect for volleyball, and yet, Hinata and Kageyama are once again manning Natsu's lemonade stand. Eyeing the money jar under the makeshift counter, both covered in stickers, Hinata wonders if Natsu actually gets any customers, and if not, why she still insists on selling lemonade even though it ends up as Hinata's expense rather than her own.

_That might just be why,_ Hinata starts to realize, just as the same two boys from yesterday walk by. They stop in front of the stand.

"I thought this was supposed to be your little sister's lemonade stand?" the one says, voice dripping low with mocking. His eyes glint amusedly under his glasses.

Hinata folds his arms and leans his cheek on top of them. "So did I," he mumbles, and then he adds, louder, "Buying anything?"

Beanstalk's lips curl up a little and start to part, but before he can get a word out, Freckles interrupts by asking for two lemonades, please. Hinata turns to Kageyama, expression somewhere between _it's your turn to pour_ and _this guy is still cute why is his friend so aggravating._ Even though Kageyama grumbles, he seems to understand, and pours the lemonade into two of Natsu's mismatched disposable cups and hands them to Hinata. Hinata goes to give the cups to the boys, but apparently he moved too fast or his hands were sweaty or _something,_ because next thing he knows the boy with yellow hair has an equally yellow shirt.

And it's then that Natsu decides to walk out of the house, just to see Hinata holding two half-empty cups and the boy's wet shirt, and the glare she sends is more cute than threatening, but she is glaring and the boy is glaring and the other boy is staring at the scene and snickering and Hinata is _absolutely terrified is this how I die? Is it?_ And Kageyama just _sits_ there, being of no help, and at least Hinata still has the right to complain in his grave about how in his dying moments, his best friend didn't bother doing anything to stop them from _being_ his dying moments.

"You." The blond's eyebrows twitch, and Hinata squeaks. His eyebrows twitch some more, and he looks ready to murder, or at least to tell Hinata off, until Freckles touches his arm to get him to calm down. Miraculously, he does, and with a deep breath, groans out an eloquent "Ugh." He puts some coins on the makeshift counter, and leaves with a stomp to his step. Freckles smiles sheepishly, and follows his friend with a wave, both walking out of sight.

As Natsu starts to lecture him, about treating customers fair and not spilling her precious lemonade, Hinata resigns himself to the fact he probably hasn't seen the last of beanstalk and Freckles. (He figures, if he's going to suffer, he'll just have to drag Kageyama down with him.)

 

"Tsu-ki-shi-ma," Kageyama sounds out, painstakingly writing the hiragana (bless his soul, he's even worse at using kanji than Hinata) across his whiteboard. The medium-sized board is usually dedicated to volleyball strategies and formations, but has also become a tool for telling Hinata all about the new neighbors. "That's the annoying one."

Hinata nods, like knowing the hiragana will help at all, and lets Kageyama continue with his pseudo lesson. "Ya-ma-gu-chi," he continues, as he writes down another line of hiragana. "That's the cute, less-annoying one. Though I'm still pissed at how much he snickered at us." Hinata chuckles, then, and watches as Kageyama continues to write down little notes across the whiteboard. It reminds Hinata of when they were kids, and Kageyama would draw tons of tiny volleyballs with his favorite blue marker, and Hinata would add not-so-tiny sound effects in black. He smiles at the thought.

"Tell me about Yamaguchi first," Hinata says, when Kageyama is done scrawling down whatever it is he was scrawling down. Kageyama always lights up a bit when you ask him to talk about something, and it's nice to see that even after all these years (and the shit storm that was junior high), Kageyama's still Kageyama, and he still enjoys explaining things to whoever is willing to listen.

"Well," Kageyama starts, voice a familiar type of informative, "Yamaguchi isn't actually a new neighbor. He stays at Shimada-san's during breaks, which is why we don't see him in school. I'm still not sure why we haven't seen him outside until now, though it's probably because he doesn't go out much. Or he didn't, previously."

Hinata tilts his head in thought. "It's not like we do, either. Sometimes I'll meet up with Izumi and Kouji, but they live on the other side of the hill. Hell of a bike ride."

Kageyama nods. "That, too." With another color marker, he draws three miniature houses next to the hiragana sounding out Tsukishima's name. "Tsukishima actually _is_ a new neighbor. His family moved in between Daichi-san and Takeda-sensei." As he says this, he labels the little houses – Daichi-san, Fucking Asshole, and Takeda-sensei – and draws a stick figure family of three in front of the middle house. "I think I saw his brother when I was on my morning run. I like him better. His mom seems decent, too. I wonder how a family like that ended up with such a prick of a child." Kageyama grabs his eraser, and with slightly less excitement, ends his spiel with, "And I guess that's all, really."

Hinata _gwoAHH!!_ 's then asks, "Do you know how they know each other?"

"I think they went to the same school," Kageyama informs him, "Back where Yamaguchi lives."

"That's nice." _Reminds me of us, sort of. But with less competition and yelling._ Hinata chuckles again, which upon seeing the contemplative scowl on Kageyama's face, turns into a full-out giggle fit, because now he's imagining Tsukishima and Yamaguchi battling it out over who can jump the highest, who can run the fastest, who can leave the biggest indent in the ground with a serve, and it's one of the funniest things he's thought in a while, funny enough that not even Kageyama's glare can stop his laughter.

 

"Yamaguchi!" Hinata yells while flapping his arms wildly, next time he sees him alone, which now that he thinks about it, is the first time. Yamaguchi starts and hesitantly waves back. "Hi," Hinata breathes, after running up to his side.

"Hello, um..." Yamaguchi stands there awkwardly, hand at the back of his neck.

Hinata blushes, suddenly, because they never actually told each other their names. "Hinata!" he blurts, too loud, and blushes darker. "It's Hinata."

Yamaguchi smiles, if a bit hesitant. "Well hello, Hinata. Did you, uh, need anything?"

"No. Just wanted to walk with you. Where are you going?" Hinata matches his pace, as Yamaguchi starts moving again.

"Nowhere in particular..." he mutters, but lets Hinata accompany him.

The summer weather has been kind so far, and it makes Hinata thirst to run, to jump, to _spike_ , but Kageyama's knuckles are bruised after getting his fingers caught in the door, which normally wouldn't stop him, except his mom has a rare day off and insists on spending it with him, and Kageyama isn't one to disrespect her wishes, no matter how small. He could ask Yamaguchi to toss to him, Hinata figures, but Hinata isn't imposing enough to interrupt his walk _and_ force him to play a sport he might not even be interested in, so he stays quiet.

They walk at a leisurely pace, or at least Yamaguchi does; Hinata has to jog some steps to keep up with Yamaguchi's surprisingly long legs. _He's cute,_ Hinata thinks, not for the first time, and smiles at how at ease he seems just walking and breathing in the air, despite his initial awkwardness.

Hinata tilts his chin up, and feels the familiar almost-strain in his neck he feels looking up at Kageyama, who's about Yamaguchi's height. The thing is, that's the _only_ familiar thing, really. When Hinata's with Kageyama, it's usually all outdoor voices and competition. Yamaguchi, on the other hand, stays silent for a long while. It's different, but it's easier to appreciate the way the flies buzz this way. Hinata likes the feeling, almost as much as he likes the noise.

They walk in aimless circles, and times passes, only indicated by the way the sky colors and blooms and fades. Yamaguchi waves farewell, when the sky is a soft greyish-blue, and Hinata waves back. _We should do this again,_ Hinata notes, and finally heads home.

 

Tsukishima is prickly and rude and _horrible,_ but he needs four people to use this stupid coupon, and he already has Kageyama and himself and he just needs _two more,_ and his mom and Natsu refused, and he'd ask Yamaguchi in a flash but he's friends with Tsukishima and they're rarely apart when Hinata needs them to be, so he has to suck up his pride and his fear over lemonade-themed agony if he _really_ wants to use it, which he does.

"Oh look, it's shrimpy and his escort." Tsukishima says, smirking, as Hinata and Kageyama walk over. He frowns, and looks down his nose at Hinata. "Aren't you the one who spilled lemonade on my shirt?"

Hinata blanches. "Well, um, maybe, but." Hinata shuts his mouth with a _clack,_ and blushes from nervousness, and perhaps a bit of embarrassment. Kageyama's arm twitches next to him, most likely out of amusement, and Hinata takes a moment to wonder why they're friends (even though he knows perfectly well).

_"Well, um, maybe, but,"_ Tsukishima mocks, and Hinata, somewhere buried deep under his indignation, appreciates that Tsukishima doesn't make voice drip high to make fun of Hinata's pitch, at least. "But _what?"_

"But..." Hinata pauses. Kageyama stands next to him, being of no help whatsoever. "But..." He takes a deep breath in, and the words rush out as one giant exhale. "But I ne _ed two more people in order to use this coupon and I really really want to but it expires today and PLEASE COME EAT LUNCH WITH US."_

Tsukishima looks baffled at the request, trying to piece it together, then abruptly tells him, "What? No." His eyes are wide enough to be smug, when he adds, "What kind of shit coupon requires four people, anyway?"

"Tsukki!" Yamaguchi scolds, shaking his arm, "At least hear him out!"

Tsukishima scoffs. "I did hear him out. And my answer is no."

Yamaguchi sighs. "But Tsukki..." He lets shoulders sag a little, and Hinata thinks, _that little shit knows what he's doing,_ "We haven't had lunch yet, and I kind of want to try something new. Can't we go?" Yamaguchi continues to talk, but Hinata doesn't bother listening, far more interested in the way Tsukishima's resolve starts to crumble, and keeps crumbling, until there isn't any resolve to speak of, only vague reluctance.

"Fine," he says, and Yamaguchi cheers.

Hinata's screaming out some sort of thanks when Yamaguchi blurts, "By the way, what are your names again?"

Kageyama stiffens a bit, and still refuses to speak. Hinata freezes. "Oh, um. Right." Hinata starts mentally flailing, and wonders how his limbs are so still when his mind is so _not._ "I'm Hinata. That's Kageyama. Let's, just. Let's go get lunch."

Yamaguchi laughs.

 

("How did you find out our names, anyway? I don't remember telling you."

Kageyama pauses mid-chew, slightly pink in the face. Tsukishima delicately raises an eyebrow.

Hinata stuffs another piece of egg into his mouth, and avoids answering.

"Well," Yamaguchi continues, "I guess that answers that.")

 

Hinata huffs. The sun is warm on his face, and the breeze feels nice against his skin. He _finally_ gets to play volleyball.

"Kageyama, serve!" he calls, from his side of the net. He'd much rather be spiking, much rather be on Kageyama's side of the net to call for a toss, but Kageyama refuses to toss to him until he can properly receive at least five of his serves. It's annoying, but Hinata _supposes_ it helps. Maybe. He's still in denial.

Kageyama's in the air, his arm is swinging down, and then the ball is flying towards Hinata, down and to the left. He shifts accordingly, brings his arms together. A perfect receive.

Then the ball glances forcefully off his arms, shooting behind him.

A moment of silence. The breeze feels nice against his skin. He just wants to play volleyball.

"Dumbass Hinata!" Kageyama screams, "You're supposed to hit it back to _me,_ not the front yard!"

"I'm sorry, okay!" Hinata yells back, chasing the storming Kageyama around the outside of the house. "I'll get it next time!" He takes a breath, about to say more, and almost runs into a frozen Kageyama. Hinata tilts his body to the side to see around Kageyama's back. "Yamaguchi?" he breathes, but doesn't think anyone hears him.

In front of Kageyama is, indeed, Yamaguchi, holding the lost volleyball. Tsukishima looms next to him. "You play volleyball?" Yamaguchi says, more a statement than a question. He smiles. Kageyama freezes. "I do, too. So does Tsukki. Mind if we join?"

Kageyama's eyes light up, and Hinata silently prays for all their sore muscles.

 

"Whoever invented two-on-two was a prick," Tsukishima mumbles from his spot on the grass. "An absolute fucking prick."

Yamaguchi snickers, lying unmoving on the ground. Hinata's starting to get why their relationship works so well. "Whatever you say, Tsukki," Yamaguchi comments absentmindedly, and doesn't bother lifting his head from the grass. Hinata can imagine him twirling it around his fingers, had the boy not been so exhausted. Hinata's surprised everyone lasted. He knows his own stamina is nothing to sneeze at, but Kageyama's _pushy._ Until they spoke, Hinata had considered the other two as good as dead. It's a warranted assumption, in his opinion.

Hinata drinks in the cooler air and closes his eyes at the feeling. The sun is starting to dye the sky pink. There's still an itch, under his bones, for something other than volleyball. He has to ask. "Does this mean we're friends?" he says, clear into the air. He hears more than sees Kageyama shuffle beside him.

"I thought we established this, dumbass." Kageyama shuffles some more, and when he's close enough, hits Hinata in the arm. It's weak, and Kageyama leaves his hand where it is, after the fact, and Hinata is too tired to fake wince or even whine about being wounded. He waits.

A breath. Yamaguchi laughs, faintly. "I suppose so," he exhales, still laughing.

"Don't think I've forgotten about my shirt," Tsukishima adds, and Yamaguchi laughs a little louder.

_What a pretty pink,_ Hinata thinks, then giggles at his inner sappiness. _How fitting._

Tsukishima looks over Kageyama's shoulder and scoffs. "Hiragana, _seriously?"_

"You're an asshole," Kageyama says, casually, and continues to write on his whiteboard.

The whiteboard isn't _sacred,_ exactly, far from it, but Hinata's never seen Kageyama take it out in front of Izumi or Kouji or any other friend Hinata has forced over the hill and into Kageyama's house, so seeing Kageyama this comfortable makes him feel a bit like a proud parent in a sort of twisted, ignoring-the-fact-he's-a-head-taller-than-me kind of way. He's not actually sure how the four of them reached this point, all scattered across Kageyama's bedroom. He's made a home for himself by the foot of the windowsill.

"I wish we could go swimming," he complains, "It's so hot out."

Yamaguchi looks up from his PSP, though he's pretty sure it's Tsukishima's. It's too hot to bother confirming. "Isn't there a pool at the community center over the hill?"

Hinata jolts up, immediately regrets his decision, and flops back down. He tosses his arm out dramatically, and exclaims, "There is? Since when?" Another dramatic gesture, this time towards the ceiling. "Why didn't I know about this? I've lived here longer than all of you! I've _lived_ longer than all of you!"

Tsukishima smirks. "What makes you think that, shorty?"

"My birthday's in June."

The smirk morphs into a grimace. It's oddly satisfying.

"Now, now," Yamaguchi hums, eyes back on his game, "Be nice."

Tsukishima huffs and pulls up his ever-present headphones. He leans back, head pointedly thumping against the wall. In the middle of the room, Kageyama's writing has become less furious, as he carefully replaces the hiragana with the proper kanji. Hinata tries to make out the words, then gives up and leaves Kageyama to it. Kageyama will be happy to explain, anyway.

The room feels stuffy with heat, even by the open window, but Hinata ignores it in favor of closing his eyes. He'll probably regret it, later, when he's sweaty and half-sticking to the floor, but he can't bring himself to care, at least not now. He turns onto his side. "Hey, Kageyama," he says, nodding vaguely in the direction of the whiteboard, "Tell me about it?"

Kageyama's eyes light up, though he hesitates, glancing at Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi looks up long enough to smile encouragingly at him. Hinata does the same. Tsukishima still has his headphones on, eyes shut.

Kageyama opens his mouth, and starts to explain.

 

It's not quite volleyball weather, anymore, while the sticky mid-summer heat still lingers, but the late afternoons remain comfortable, and walks with Yamaguchi timeless.

It's during one of these walks - when the sky is split evenly between green and yellow and blue - that Yamaguchi tilts his head up, and asks, "Do you mind doing me a favor?"

Hinata turns, and watches Yamaguchi's closed eyelids flutter, watches the way he sways slightly with every forward movement. "Yes," he says. Then, "I mean, no. Yes. Wait – " Yamaguchi opens his eyes and chuckles. Hinata might be blushing. "I don't mind," he finishes, and tries to look earnest rather than embarrassed.

Yamaguchi looks up to the sky again, still laughing lightly. "Could you take care of Tsukki while I'm gone?" At Hinata's obvious confusion, he adds, "He may not seem the type, but Tsukki's pretty bad with new places. Or any change, really. Besides," Yamaguchi shifts to face Hinata as he says this, and smiles, "I think he's warming up to you guys already. Wouldn't want to ruin that."

Hinata can still feel reluctance coursing through his system, but Yamaguchi's expression is so soft and worried and hopeful that Hinata just _knows_ he will feel like an absolute jerk if he refuses. And so, he answers, "Sure," and is rewarded by Yamaguchi's shoulders releasing the tension neither knew was there, and the relief that flies out as Yamaguchi exhales, looking to the sky once more.

Hinata does the same.

 

"Yamaguchi," Tsukishima deadpans, "Don't leave me. I'll be stuck with these two."

Yamaguchi laughs and continues to drag his suitcase to the car. "I'll miss you too, Tsukki," he replies with a roll of his eyes, and Hinata swears that Tsukishima starts _pouting,_ though the expression disappears soon after. Kageyama looks vaguely disappointed. Other than that, they're all pretty composed. Hinata figures the fact Yamaguchi's _leaving,_ even if it's not forever, hasn't really sunk in yet.

He gives Yamaguchi a thumbs-up from outside the car window, yells _see you next time,_ and waves until the car is over the hill and out of sight, and for a little bit after. When he finally lowers his hand, Tsukishima is staring at the ground, fiddling with his headphones, and Kageyama is mildly scowling at them both.

A moment passes. Then Kageyama opens his mouth, says, "I kind of want lemonade," and Hinata doubles over laughing, thinks, _I'd like that too._


End file.
